Let’s face it, most of us are currently riding the struggle bus. Finals can be rough, and whether you have 3 exams on the same day or 170 pages of papers to write, we believe that you can make it through somehow. But to make the process a little easier, here are some tips to help you survive the next week and a half before glorious summer.

Self Control Whether it’s your own self control or the app (personally I recommend the app, it’s much more reliable), find a way to focus on your work. Get off Facebook, quit scrolling through old whatshouldwecallme posts, stop making memes of your friends.

Give It a Rest Make sure you’re not sacrificing too much sleep. I’m not going to tell you to get your 8 hours a night or avoid cramming because that’s not realistic, but think twice about pulling an all-nighter and going straight into an exam. You know how loopy you get around 4 a.m.? That’s probably not the best state to be taking a test that’s worth 25% of your grade in. Try to sneak in a few hours to refresh your mind. Sleepyti.me is a helpful tool that will calculate the best times to plan to wake up so you’re not groggy when you get up.

Find Your Groove Even the quietest of quiet spaces is going to have some background noise. Whether you need to tune out the loud conversations of Lau 2 or just drown out that guy who brought a selection of crunchy snacks into the quiet room, have some music on tap that will help you focus. Classical music is great (personally I’m a fan of the Lord of the Rings soundtrack), but if that’s not your thing go for something that won’t make you want to dance or sing along. See our Finals Fixat10ns from last semester for a start.

Eat Smart, Be Smart Don’t use finals as an excuse to load up on crap more than you usually would. Try to eat balanced meals (at normal times if you can), it’ll keep you going. This advice comes from someone who ate way too many chicken fingers on Chicken Finger Thursday yesterday and wound up in a food coma on a couch in Midnight Mug – just trust me.

If you can dream it, you can do it! Set goals, and reward yourself once you achieve them. They can be small – a trip to Midnight Mug after you finish two pages of your paper – or big – a blowout with your friends once you’re totally done with exams – whatever floats your boat. Just make sure you have something to look forward to, a light at the end of the tunnel.

Embrace the Loopiness When you’re spending most of your time trying to memorize the capitals of Eastern European countries or the bones in your left foot, sometimes you get a little crazy. Don’t try to fight it, just find some way to let it out. It’ll be easier to focus once you get it out of your system. For example, I’m currently writing this from under a table (chairs got too hard). And don’t worry about being judged, most people will probably be able to identify.

Perspective is Everything While finals are important, remember that they don’t totally define your life. Doing well is great, but doing okay is fine too. Your sanity is more important than a 4.0. Take a minute to step back and appreciate that there’s life outside of finals (and you’ll be there soon!).

Image: undeclaredcomics.com